Diem is a new social universe designed for women and non-binary folks. As we all know, social media is hugely influential to how we live, work and communicate with one another, yet today’s top platforms have all been designed by men, and unfortunately, that oftens means that they practice harmful and sexist policies. Ultimately, this has left less space for women and non-binary folks to exist in virtual worlds.
We hope to change this by offering a platform purposefully designed to speak to women and non-binary folks, allowing them to confidently amplify their voices and benefit from the power of collective knowledge by creating an alternative space for them to share their knowledge about the good, the bad and the “things we don’t talk about openly.”
We provide an authentic learning experience for members, moving away from the orchestrated, performative content that we’re used to seeing on social media and toward a more equitable, personal experience where knowledge is the ultimate form of social currency. To us, every person’s unique experience is a well of knowledge that someone else can learn from.
Our goal is to provide open access to all of that expertise because knowledge = power, in this universe and the other one. As we grow Diem, we plan to innovate on antiquated perceptions of social media and harness technology typically found in gaming and AR/VR, to cultivate a truly social, three-dimensional environment.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
The idea for Diem first came about after having to take Plan B – I’d never taken it before and I ended up crowdsourcing answers from women in the office & in my friendship group, plus spiraling into an all too familiar internet hole trying to understand the side effects. I ended up in a bright green forum where the last post was in 2009. It was during this time I started to think about why we didn’t have a go-to place online to go to discover subject matter experts and peers to share and discover knowledge from one another.
I knew this online scramble doesn’t reflect the real behavior we know exists among women and non-binary folks in the real world, which is to share their lived experiences with each other “behind closed doors” in a helpful, constructive way. When I then met my co-founder, Divia, at work, the idea for Diem really came into fruition and we formed our approach to this problem together.
More from Interviews
- Meet Henry Wilkinson, Co-Founder at Drop-in, Ahead Of The Opening Of Drop-in Richmond
- Meet Oli Cook, CEO and Founder of ekko.
- Meet Marko Maras, CEO and Founder of Trustfull
- Meet Jeff Warren, Chief Technology Officer at Netwrix
- Evgeny Filichkin, Investment Advisor at Keytom & FinTech50 Judge, Tells Us What He’s Looking For From Entrants
- Tracy Prandi-Yuen, VP, Global Partnerships at Boku Inc. & FinTech50 Judge, Tells Us What She’s Looking For From Entrants
- Valentina Drofa, Co-Founder and CEO at Drofa Comms & FinTech50 Judge, Tells Us What She’s Looking For From Entrants
- Meet Oliver Bourne, Co-Founder Of WYSPR
How has the company evolved during the pandemic?
We started health & wellness focused, recognizing there was a huge need for a place to connect with medical professionals & peers. The pandemic saw our members engage with topics relating to their health, but it also saw them turn to us for more than that – they wanted to discuss career, finance, pop culture and everything in between. We always thought we would expand to other topics down the line but the pandemic sped things up for us – in the best way!
What can we hope to see from Diem in the future?
Diem will become a virtual world, designed with intentionality, user well-being and safety at its core. We plan to innovate on antiquated perceptions of social media and harness technology typically found in gaming and AR/VR, to cultivate a truly social, three-dimensional environment, designed to elevate the online experience of women and non-binary folks A.K.A an alternate universe.
